Almondigas

On July 12, 2003 by Connie Veneracion

Misua is the name for fine rice noodles used mostly for soup dishes because of its tendency to get soggy once it becomes wet.

This is an old recipe from my grandmother. My only contribution is to add grated carrots to the meatballs to add flavor and color. And I substituted leeks for the traditional sibuyas na mura for a more robust flavor without detracting from the delicateness of this traditional Filipino soup dish.

Now, don’t ask me what almondigas means. I really do not know. My Spanish is really, really bad. I only learned basic Spanish because it was required in college.

Mix together all the ingredients for the meat balls, except the flour. Form into balls about 2 inches in diameter.

Heat a wok or skillet. Pour in the cooking oil until it starts to smoke. Roll each meat ball in flour and fry in hot oil, rolling the balls around in oil to brown evenly. Once lightly browned, remove from the wok or skillet and drain on paper towels.

Heat a large saucepan or casserole. Transfer 1 tbsp. of cooking oil from the skillet or wok. Saute the garlic and onion until the onion is soft. Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil. Add the meat balls. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings, as needed. Turn off the heat. Add the misua and cover for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a soup tureen and top with sliced leeks or sibuyas na mura. Serve hot.

Your “almondigas” may have come from the Spanish “Albondigas” literally meaning “meatballs”… Of course, since they’re so close in pronunciation, someone probably wasn’t reading it and was listening in a far away manner.

In some countries, albondigas while known as meatballs can also be used as profanity… to describe a rather male part…

I’ve been visiting your site for two years now, and frequent it especially when I’m away for school and have no mother to cook Filipino food for me.

I just want to say that I think almondigas in Spain is actually meatballs simmered in tomatoes, garlic, onion, and herb mixture…more like an appetizer than anything else. I know, I know…traditional foods get bastardized in the colonies, but still…it’s pretty good as an appetizer.

Yah this one is realy a part of our food lives…
Si Mother ko super luto ng Almondigas pag wala ng ma-isip na ulam at tamad ng magluto.. Har Har Har!! I can still remember how it was easy for her to prepare this for us…

Ikaw talaga Mam Sassy, cant help but reminsicin the good old days when I had so much fun with my Mom.. Don’t get me wrong, my mom still alive and healthy, iyon nga lang malayo ako sa kanya at nasa Manila siya…

My husband and I tried this recipe and it was delicious. Only difference from our moms’ recipe is the addition of the tomato paste which was new to us. But overall, we loved it. Our son loved it too! :)

Hello. I made this for dinner tonight and it’s really yummy. I’ve tried several recipes of almondigas already and this is best among them. But next time, I’ll forgo the tomato paste because I really don’t like the orange look on my soup and I’ll use green onions instead of leeks. Thanks for the recipe!

P.S. I deglaze the skillet I used for browning the meatballs with some of the broth in this recipe to get the yummy bits left and added it as well in the soup.

Hi: I live in Toronto and Filipino cuisine is very popular here. I live near a park in Toronto which is where I first became acquainted with Filipino food – everyone with their BBQs on a Sunday roasting gorgeous sticks of pork, etc. There is so much more to Filipino food than lumpia and pancit! Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had a recipe for a chicken adobo recipe in a slow cooker. Salamat po!